two in the morning
by not a straight trumpet
Summary: In which Kumiko and Reina have a somewhat unexpected meeting in the middle of the night.
**a/n:** so i was hit with a sudden burst of inspiration and then this happened

asuka is best wingman

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It was two in the morning.

It was two in the morning, and Kumiko was curled up in her bed with what was either a teddy bear or a bundle of blankets that vaguely felt like a teddy bear. In her sleep-deprived state, she didn't particularly care to find out.

It was two in the morning, the lights were dimmed in her room as she tried to go back to sleep after waking up from a particularly horrendous nightmare, but something was making a noise outside, barely audible and yet still annoying enough to prevent Kumiko from returning to dreamland. She let out a grumble and wriggled her way out of the thin sheets of her bed, shuffling over to the window while trying to ignore how cold her room was in stark contrast to the coziness of her bed.

It was two in the morning, and Reina Kousaka stood outside the apartment building, playing her trumpet while Asuka - _Asuka, of all people_ \- held up a microphone to the instrument.

"Reina?!" Kumiko practically screeched. The other girl gave a nod in response. "I-it's the middle of the night! What're you doing here?" Kumiko could see Asuka handing Reina the microphone before scurrying off into the bushes with a wide grin on her face.

"I wanted to do something others wouldn't," she replied.

"At two in the morning? W-what could be important for you to go all the way over here, with Asuka accompanying you, no less, and-"

"I don't think we should talk like this, windowsill to grass, sky to ground. It's . . . rather impersonal."

"You're the one who came over here with your trumpet and the vice president at an ungodly hour!" _Crap, that sounded really rude, she probably thinks I'm horrible now and she's never gonna talk to me again and she's-_

"I could go up here if that would be more convenient."

"N-no, that's fine! You'd, uh, probably just end up waking everyone else up. I'll go down there r-right now, okay?" Reina nodded from below. Kumiko backed away from the window and ran from her room, tiptoeing through the darkened apartment until she reached the hallway and broke out into a run again. The metal doors of the elevator opened before her, and she stepped inside with her socks dully thudding against the carpeted floor. There was a certain distortion to reality to be found alone in an elevator in the middle of the night, Kumiko thought as she anxiously waited for it to reach the ground floor. She wasted no time heading outside and greeting Reina, who had placed her trumpet safely back in its case. Asuka still sat in the bushes with a lopsided smirk.

"Don't mind me," she sighed, flapping her hand back and forth as if she was trying to dismiss herself. "I'm just here because dear Kousaka needed a microphone and a wingman, nothing more. Besides, there's a bit of adventure to this, isn't there? I guess it's more of a romantic drama, really, what with the midnight confessions and trumpet-playing and-" Reina silenced her with a glare.

"Er, anyway," Kumiko mumbled. "W-what'd you want to talk to me about?" She suddenly felt very small and awkward, standing at the foot of the apartment building in fuzzy pajamas and socks with cat patterns while Reina, as usual, radiated an otherworldly glow.

"Summer vacation begins soon, correct?" Reina began. "I was thinking about that, how people don't always see each other during that time and how it can be somewhat of a shame for them to miss out on those opportunities, instead choosing to stay home and waste the days alone."

"Y-yeah, what about that?" Kumiko didn't dare let herself get her hopes up, in fear that Reina would say something other than what she thought she might.

"What I wanted to ask you, Kumiko, is will you travel with me this summer? My parents have already agreed to the arrangements, we would only stay in the safest places, the trains are reliable, and-"

"Yes!" Kumiko wrapped Reina in a tight hug. "I mean, uh, yeah, of c-course." She stepped back, staring down at the ground.

"Perfect. Now, I suppose that we should both be on our ways back to our respective beds. Asuka, thank you for your . . . assistance." The older girl gave a thumbs-up from the bush.

"Of course! Just make sure to tell me all about what happens after you get back from . . . _traveling._ " Asuka waggled her eyebrows as she sank back into the bush.

"I'll send you more of the details tomorrow, Kumiko, once both of us are a bit more awake." Kumiko nodded in agreement and went back inside the building, a smile plastered on her face.

It was two-thirty in the morning, and Kumiko could hardly sleep past her excitement.


End file.
